COHASSET, MA – The title – director of golf operations – suggests the job is more than running the pro shop and giving lessons. And so it is for J.P. Connelly, who is officially the director of golf operations at the Cohasset Golf Club and oversees a staff of 20 people at the prestigious Donald Ross-designed golf course. But cut a little bit deeper into the mind and soul of the 41-year old Connelly, who arrived at Cohasset in 2003, and you will find a golf pedigree. "My dad was the pro at Huntingdon Valley in Pennsylvania for more than 30 years," said Connelly, "so I was always around golf." But for Connelly – who grew up in the Philadelphia area, went to college in Florida and then migrated north, rather than south – golf was an acquired taste. "My dad tried to get me to play the game when I was 5 or 6 and I hated it," said Connelly with a laugh. "He kept on making me play in the father-and-son events. I played twice a year. One year when I was 11, I went out there and did pretty well. I said to myself, 'If I can do this well and I'm just fooling around, I should be doing this.'" The next morning, much to Jack Connelly's amazement, he saw his wife drop off his son at the golf course."My dad couldn't believe I was there," said Connelly. "From that point, I was playing every day when I wasn't at school. That's all I was doing." Connelly dabbled in a few other sports including hockey, but golf was in his bloodstream. "I was always focused on golf," said Connelly, who went from high school in the Philadelphia area to college at Florida Southern in Lakeland, where he played golf well enough to consider life as a touring pro. That dream ended quickly, however. "I spent about a year playing in some mini tours," said Connelly. "But I quickly learned I just wasn't good enough. I think, even if I had the talent, I wouldn't enjoy it as much. So I decided to go into the business end." Connelly began a journey as an assistant pro in Florida and then up to Massachusetts as an assistant pro at the Myopia Hunt Club. When his father became PGA president in 2001, Connelly went home to run an operation that needed tending. Jack Connelly was spending 180 days a year on the road at PGA functions. "It was a great opportunity," said Connelly. "I got a sense of what it was like to run a big operation." In 2003, Cohasset made a call and Connelly, at the age of 28, had his first job as a head pro at a golf club. The irony of it is that Connelly is playing less golf in the summer and fall than he ever has. "I might not play more than 10 to 12 rounds of golf during the season," said Connelly, who lives in Marshfield with his wife, Tara. He is at work before 7 a.m. most days and will not leave until it is dark, depending on his lesson schedule. "What I love about this job is the diversity," said Connelly, who spends his time from Christmas to late March in Florida, enjoying a working holiday which includes about two hours each day of club business and then three to four rounds of golf each week. Then it is back to New England and golf in Cohasset. "No two days are the same. I love it up here. We go pretty much full blast from late March until late November. Then we shut the clubhouse down after Christmas, which is a good time for us recharge our batteries." The Cohasset Golf Club has been around since 1894 when it opened as a six-hole course. In 1922, Donald Ross came to town and designed an entirely new 18-hole layout. With 350 full-time golf members and 150 social members, Cohasset's golf season is a steady series of member events. From there, J.P. moved to Kittansett Country Club where he serves as Head Golf Professional.In this episode, Kevin Walsh and J.P. Connelly discuss J.P.'s amateur golf career and his journey to becoming a head golf professional at a top level club. J.P. is very entertaining and this episode has lots of great stuff that golfers and non-golfers alike would love.
